Legal accounts controversy: Who should fund the broken justice system? Legal First, the government tried to go after the LLPs, but that failed. Now its eyes are on law firms’ client accounts under the narrative that it will be used to help the crumbling justice system, but lawyers are seeing it as just another tax raid. Law firms earn substantial income from interest on client accounts, [...]
Scrapping jury trials will only have ‘modest’ impact on backlog Politics David Lammy’s controversial plan to restrict jury trials will unlock only “relatively modest reductions in demand given the scale of institutional upheaval”, according to a new report by the Institute for Government (IFG). The government’s plans, which leaked in November, revealed a move to scrap some jury trials to tackle the nearly 80,000 criminal case [...]
David Lammy’s plan to seize law firm interest sparks outrage Legal Secretary of State for Justice David Lammy was accused of a “brazen attempt” to “confiscate law firms’ cash” after the government revealed plans to take the interest law firms earn on money sitting in their client accounts. Earlier this month, the Ministry of Justice opened a consultation on a proposal to introduce an Interest on [...]
Nick Ephgrave announces surprise retirement from Serious Fraud Office January 15, 2026 Nick Ephgrave will step down as director of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) two and a half years before his first term was due to finish. The former assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan Police was appointed as the SFO’s director, taking over from Lisa Osofsky, who oversaw several errors during her tenure. Ephgrave was the [...]
Ex-Jefferies banker pleads not guilty in FCA insider dealing case January 7, 2026 A former banker at investment bank Jefferies pleaded not guilty to one count of insider dealing ahead of a trial listed for January 2028. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) revealed in November that it started criminal proceedings against Bobosher Sharipov, 44, and Bekzod Avazov, 43, for alleged insider dealing. Sharipov worked at investment bank Jefferies [...]
Scathing report blames MoJ for wasting public funds and failing justice system January 7, 2026 A new scathing Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report on the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) revealed that a cyberattack last year at the Legal Aid Agency gave hackers access to sensitive providers’ and data for four months. There was a cyberattack on the Legal Aid Agency last year that took the services offline for some time [...]
Government slashes rights to trial by jury in court shake-up December 2, 2025 Justice secretary David Lammy has confirmed his controversial plans to scrap some jury trials to tackle the nearly 80,000 criminal cases backlog. Speaking in the House of Commons, after a week of outrage following a leak of the plan, Lammy told MPs that he will “follow Sir Brian [Leveson]’s bold blueprint for change”, by creating [...]
David Lammy promises ‘fast and fair justice’ plan after jury trial leak sparked outrage December 2, 2025 After a week of criticism following leaked details of plans to scrap some jury trials, David Lammy is expected to address the controversy on Tuesday and outline the next steps in the government’s plan to overhaul the justice system. The backlog at the Crown Court stands at almost 80,000 cases, but the justice secretary has [...]
Former City minister Tulip Siddiq sentenced to two years over corruption charges December 1, 2025 Labour’s Tulip Siddiq has been found guilty by a Bangladesh court of influencing ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina her aunt, to obtain plots of land on the outskirts of Dhaka. When Labour won power in July, Siddiq was appointed economic secretary to the Treasury and City minister. However, less than five months into her ministerial [...]
David Lammy avoids urgent questions on jury scrapping plans November 27, 2025 Justice secretary David Lammy was a no-show at urgent questions in the House of Commons on Thursday, prompting Robert Jenrick to ask about his whereabouts as the justice minister took his place. The questions stem from a leaked memo reported on Tuesday, in which Lammy proposed scrapping some jury trials to tackle the backlog of [...]